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How to Make Homemade Glazed Doughnuts

Posted on May 2, 2016 / posted in Donuts / 204 comments

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Homemade glazed doughnuts are easier than you think to make. Ready in about 2 hours, these
are just like doughnuts from your favorite bakery made in the comfort of your own home. Follow
my step photos, tips and tricks, and foolproof recipe for doughnut success!
Doughnuts from a doughnut shop are incredibly delicious and indulgent, with that signature taste
and texture we all know and love. When you can’t pickup your favorite doughnuts, make them at
home instead! Today, we’re taking a deep dive into doughnut making– fried, sugary, old-
fashioned, comforting, Sunday morning doughnuts. It’s so much fun to be able to make them
from scratch in your own kitchen without leaving the comforts of home. There’s a lot to cover
today, so let’s get started.

These Homemade Glazed Doughnuts Are:

 Soft and sweet

 Flavored with a little nutmeg
 Just like your favorite doughnuts from a doughnut shop
 Made completely from-scratch
 Ready in about 2 hours (most of this is rise time!)
 A fun and delicious weekend project
 Perfect for sharing
Best Ingredients to Use for Homemade Doughnuts

We use a basic dough for today’s doughnuts. You only need a few ingredients to begin.

 Milk: Liquid activates the yeast. Whole milk is a must for the most tender dough– or you can try
buttermilk.
 Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using an instant yeast, your rise time will
be a little shorter.
 Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough.
 Eggs: Eggs provide structure and flavor.
 Butter: Butter promises a flavorful dough. We use melted butter for enhanced flavor.
 Salt & Vanilla Extract: Both add flavor. Try using homemade vanilla extract.
 Flour: All-purpose flour is the structure of the dough. You’ll be tempted to add more and more
flour as you mix the dough. Don’t. You want a very soft, pillowy dough for soft, pillowy
doughnuts. The dough can still be slightly sticky. Just work on a floured surface with heavily
floured hands when kneading.
 Nutmeg: A little nutmeg is the secret ingredient to that cozy, comforting bakery taste. If you’ve
ever made my chocolate chip muffins, you’ve tasted the delicious pop of flavor this spice adds.

Baking with Yeast Guide

Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include
practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Overview: How to Make Glazed Doughnuts

Let me walk you through the process so you understand what you’re doing. Homemade
doughnuts seem a little intimidating, but I assure you– they’re really not!

1. Prepare the dough. The dough comes together with a mixer. You can also make the dough by
hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, it’s
time to knead.
2. Let the dough rise. The dough rises in about 60-90 minutes in a relatively warm environment.
3. Punch down the dough. Punch down the dough to release the air.
4. Roll & cut into doughnuts. Roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Using a doughnut cutter,
cut 12 doughnuts. Prepare 2 baking sheets and place 6 doughnuts and 6 doughnut holes onto
each.
5. Prepare the oil. Heat the oil to 375°F (191°C). Place a cooling rack over a third baking sheet.
6. Fry the doughnuts. Working with 2-3 doughnuts at a time, cook for 1 minute on each side.
Carefully remove from the oil and place onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
(See my recipe note about doughnut holes.)
7. Make the glaze. Dip each warm doughnut into the glaze and coat both sides. This glaze will
eventually set and harden on the doughnuts after about 20 minutes.

Here are some helpful step photos of the process:

Let the dough rise, then roll out to be about 1/2 inch thick. Use a doughnut cutter or circle cookie
cutter if you’ve got a large and small. You’ll want something around 3 and 1/2 inches.
Line the doughnuts up on a couple baking sheets, then cover with a towel and allow to rest as
you get the oil heated. Pour a quart or 2 of oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven. Stress on
the heavy bottom because this oil gets HOT!!

Cook a couple doughnuts at a time, only about a minute on each side until they’re golden.
Dunk each warm doughnut into a simple 3-ingredient glaze– just milk, confectioners’ sugar, and
vanilla extract.
This Dough is Best for Frying

I don’t recommend baking this dough– this dough is best for frying in oil.

If you’re looking for a baked donut, try crumb cake donuts, baked pumpkin donuts, cinnamon
sugar donuts, or lemon poppy seed donuts.
Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
★★★★★ 4.9 from 41 reviews

 Prep Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

 Cook Time: 10 minutes

 Total Time: 2 hours

 Yield: 12 donuts and 12 holes

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Description

Start your mornings right with homemade glazed doughnuts. They’re easier to make than you
think!

Ingredients

 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F*

 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast*
 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  2 large eggs
 6 Tablespoons (86g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 4 cups (490g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more as needed
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1 – 2 quarts vegetable oil*

Easy Glaze

 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream or whole milk (I prefer cream)
 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Or, if
you do not own a stand mixer, a regular large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of
the sugar on top of the milk. Give it a light stir with a spoon and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The
mixture should be frothy after 5 minutes. If not, start over with new yeast.
2. If you do not have a mixer, you can mix by hand in this step. With the stand mixer running on
low speed, add the remaining sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, 2 cups of flour, salt, and nutmeg. Beat
on low speed for 1 minute or until combined. Add remaining flour and beat on medium-high
speed until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be
thick, yet soft. And slightly sticky. If it is too wet, add 2-3 more Tablespoons of flour. Make sure
you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly sticky dough.
3. Form dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes, then
place into a greased bowl– I usually just use oil or nonstick spray. Turn the dough over to coat all
sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm environment to rise until doubled,
about 1 and 1/2 hours. For this warm environment, I preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C) then turn
the oven off and place the bowl inside the warm-ish oven.
4. Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from
the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down again to release any more air
bubbles if needed. Roll the dough out until it is only 1/2 inch thick. Using a doughnut cutter, cut
into 12 doughnuts. If you can’t quite fit 12, re-roll the scraps and cut more.
5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place 6 doughnut and
doughnut holes on each. Cover with kitchen towels and allow to rest for about 15-20 minutes as
you prepare the oil. Place a cooling rack over a third baking sheet.
6. Pour oil into the pot set over medium heat. Heat to 375°F (191°C). Add 2-3 doughnuts at a time
and cook for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove with a metal spatula or metal slotted
spoon. Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Place onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining
doughnuts, then turn off heat.* (See note for doughnut holes.)
7. Make the glaze: Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together. Dip each warm doughnut (don’t
wait for them to cool!) into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Place back onto prepared
rack to allow excess glaze drip down. The glaze will eventually set + harden on the doughnuts
after about 20 minutes.
 8. Doughnuts are best enjoyed the same day, though they keep at room temperature or in the
refrigerator for a couple extra days in an airtight container.

Notes

1. Overnight Option: Complete dough through step 2 and half of step 3. Instead of allowing to rise
in a warm environment, place the covered dough into the refrigerator overnight (8-12 hours).
The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment until
doubled. Continue with step 4.
2. Doughnut Holes: Add holes to hot oil and fry until golden, about 30 seconds, on each side.
3. Milk: Use whole milk or buttermilk for richest tasting, softest dough. Do not use low fat or skim
milk.
4. Yeast: If using an instant yeast, your rise time will be a little shorter. Reference my Baking with
Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
5. Oil: The amount of oil really depends on how wide or tall your pot is. You want oil to fill about
1/3 of the pot. I use a little more than 1 quart for my 4 and 1/2 quart Dutch oven.
6. Doughnut Cutter: You can also use 1 large + 1 smaller circle cookie cutter (large should be about
3 and 1/2 inches)
7. Special Tools: Large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven, high-heat thermometer (I love this
thermometer too), and a doughnut cutter.*
8. Leftover Oil: Do not pour used oil down the sink drain. Allow to cool, then pour into an empty
container and discard in the trash. Or reuse it.
9. Adapted from Mark Bittman and Top Pot Doughnuts.

Did you make this recipe?

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204 Comments

1. Karthika says:

June 1, 2020 at 4:58 pm

Hi,
I’m planning to try your recipe. But I need to make only 6. Could you please tell me
which ingredients need to be halved and which ingredients can be used the same amount
as you mentioned?
 Thanks,
Karthika

Reply

2. Audrey says:

June 1, 2020 at 10:39 pm

Hi, I want to make these but have no all purpose flour Do you think that bread flour
would work?

Reply

1. Catherine says:

June 2, 2020 at 7:50 pm

It might work, you’ll just have to knead less

Reply

3. Amber says:

June 2, 2020 at 12:49 pm

Hi Sally,
Despite being a baker of long standing, I have never made fried doughnuts, only the
baked variety. I had a craving for doughnuts and had no desire to buy any heavy
concoctions from a bakery so turned to your blog and made these glazed doughnuts this
evening. The verdict? Absolutely delicious! Light, soft, melt in the mouth (if one can say
that about a doughnut!). I wasn’t surprised-your recipes are always a success. Thank you!

Reply
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